Shank-piece for boots and shoes.



,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.Av

'WILLIAMHBAYNARn or. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASsIeNOR To A. E.

' f LiTTLEa COMPANY, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, yA VFIRM.

j s-HANK-PIOE Fon BOOTS A ND SHOES.

No. 815,327. Y

- To'all whom it may concern:

A. duction-of a novel and highly-efficient.shank#A `piece or stiffener for use in boots and-shoes,

1 5, arch of the foot.

l the ball of the sole of the boot or Shoe and `20 is generally a strip of spring-steel or other Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BAYNABn,

a citizen of' the United States, and a resident of No.4 226 Newton street, Boston, county of Suffolk, Stateof Massachusetts', have invented an Improvement .in Shank-Pieces for Boots and Shoes, of which the' following description,

in conneetion'with the accompanying drawings, is a specicationflike characters onl .the drawings representing like parts. l

This invention has for its object the proywhereby additional strength isisecured and a firm and lasting support is provided for the The common shank-piece as ordinarily used-extends from-the breast of the heel to suitable resilient metal. Such shank-pieces break down and permit the shoe to sag at thej shank as there is nothing to hold the shankpiece firmly and securely in place, and, furthermore, the shank-piece itself is not possessed of sufiicient strength or ri idity.

'- To persons troubled with at foot or breaking down of the archsome firm and durable support 1is absolutely necessary 'for the archof the foot, and such support is usually secured by means ofV plates inserted in the boot or shoe. Such plates are expensive and I more or less uncomfortable and often hurt 35 l strong, firm, and comfortab e arc sup ort Kwhich is a part of the shoe and which'wil not' v tionwill be fully described in the' subjoined l.

specification and ythe foot of the wearer when in use. By. my present invention the shankiece rovides a therein embodying my present invention.,`

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional detail 'on the line 2 2, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shank-piece detached.

In carrying out my invention Itake a strip 'of referably spring-steel of suitable lengt an Width'and fold it upon itself to present two superposed parallel and contacting portions 1'v and.2, the fold being made at 3 cen-- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 12| 1905. Serial No. 273.870.

"Patented March 2o, 1906'.

trally between the ends ofthe strip. Before folding thestrip one of the portions is bent or molded in 'any convenient manner to present anl elongated transversely-convex projection 4,' herein shown on the portion 2 of the strip andso positioned that when the-shank-piece'A lis in the shoe (see Fig. 1) the projection/1 will be adjacent the innerl sole I and Vwill form an arch-support for Athe foot of the wearer. The' projection does not extend to the ends of .the folded strip, and the rear end of the latter has consequently a 'fiat portion 5,- which is inserted between the lheel H and the heel part of the insole, and preferably the shank-piece I is secured in place by fastenin s,as nails 6, driven through holes 7 in the at portion 5.

lAllole 8 is shown in Fig.` 3 in the front end of the shank-piece, through Whichis driven a nail 9 Fig: l, tosecure the front end of. the

shank-,piece in position. y

It will be seen that the shank-piece is curved slightly in the-directionof its length` to conform to the slope of the shank of the shoe, and by extending the rear end of the shank-piece alon the heel, as shown, a very strong and rigid s ank-stiffeningis rovided, which will .not break down and a solutely Aprevents sagging of the shoeat the shank.

sof

j The projection Lilprovides a firm, comfort= able,l and verystrong-support forl the' arch of the'foot, the 'shank of Athe boot or shoe being properly-'stiffened and Supported at the same time; v

The shank-piece combines-great strength with light weight, owing to its mode oflcony struction, and it is easily and cheaply manufactured.

1 Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and ters Patent, ris I 1, A shoe-shank consisting of an elongated desire to secure by Let- Vmetallic strip centrally folded uponitself to bring the folded -portions in contact with each other'and having one ofsaid folded porl veX arch support and stif'fener.

2; A shoe-'shank consisting of anelongated tions molded to present a transversely-con- .strip of steel foldeduponitself to bring the fol ed ortions into" arallelism and curved being molded to present l.an elongated, transversel -convexarch-support.

- 3." shoe-shank consisting of a strip of resilientmetal folded upon itself centrally be:

in the irection of itsv ength, one of said folds tWeen its ends and having one of the folded portions bent to present an external, elongated and transversely-convex projection,

the adjacent faces ofthe folded portions centacting. Y

4. A shoe-shank consistin of a strip of spring-steel folded upon itse f, one of the folded portions being molded to present an external transverselymonvex, elongated projection, leaving a flat adjacent portion at the end of thestrip for attachment to the heel of a shoe.

v 5.- In a boot or shoe, a resilient shankpiece consisting of a strip of metal folded upon itself and having the u perinost portion molded for a portion oi its Iength to resent a transversely-convex arch-supp0rt a( jacent the inner sole, the shank-piece at its rear end.

beyond said molded (portion being extended between the heel an the inner sole and secured in position.

6. In a boot or shoe, a shank-piececonsist- 

